September 7, 2012Yoga Is Union: Music for Yoga and RelaxationTom Coletti2012

Not quite trance music, ambient soundscapes, nor a survey or collage of ethnic musics married to electronica or found sounds, this album by audio engineer, producer, and percussionist Tom Colletti is more of a subtle, unobtrusive soundtrack to your meditative practice. It is synthesized sounds with hints of melody and even some tastefully placed birdsong, but it’s not the kind of album that leads you by the hand and takes you on a curated journey through dramatic lands of sound. Instead it will quietly adjust your mood and offer you colors and textures to shape as you please.

“Yama,” the opening track, sustains a shimmering hum from which the sounds of flute or strings occasionally rise. “Niyama” offers a trace of a melody that could well have evolved from the sounds of rising bubbles, driven by light percussion, predominately cymbals and chimes. On “Asana” a flute voice sings the melody and some downright funky percussion layered underneath creates a groove. A more mystical creation, “Pranayama” plays with sounds of respiration over a centering hum, which kicks out at intervals to avoid becoming too pervasive or oppressive. Rhythmic hand drums lead the way on “Pratyahara,” and “Bodhi” lays the groundwork for playful flute harmonies and runs of synthesized harp.

A bolt of electric current is added to the mix in “Abhyasa,” over which deep chime tones resound and sitarlike strings twang. Below this, reedy, clapping percussion produces a jaunty rhythm that lasts all the way through to “Dharana,” a track on which bouncing organ vamps interplay with the sounds of light chanting. Things go misty again on “Dhyana.” The percussion is cut back to gentle maracas and castanets. Piano dances over an angelic hum that carries over to the next track, “Samadi,” a respiratory ebb and flow of human voices over which marimba and guitar sounds dance lightly. “Mouna” begins a breezy cool down, which ends in “Savasana” in a windy whisper.